Question

Chloe wants to cut a 37 in. piece of ribbon into three pieces. The second piece is to be 2 in. longer than the first, and the third piece is to be 3 in. longer than the second. How long will each of the pieces be?

Answer 1

1st piece = x

2nd piece = x+2

3rd piece = x+2+3 = x+5

37 = x +x+2 + x+5 =

37 = 3x+7

30=3x

x = 30/3 = 10

 1st piece = 10 inches

 2nd piece = 10+2 = 12 inches

 3rd piece = 10+5 = 15 inches